Dragoncrest Cliffs Tardy for the party

She wanted to deny it to safeguard her heart, yet Wildfire would've had to be extremely ignorant to pretend the signs weren't there. Ever since the initial quickening, the puppies—as she had very haltingly permitted herself to think of them—hadn't stopped moving. It was overwhelming in a way. She had thought her womb barren and emptied and now it was thrumming with signs of life. Her sides were growing almost visibly day by day and the urge to nest was growing steadily stronger.

Tentatively, she let the seed of hope take root, flower and blossom. When this April morning dawned crisp but radiantly sunny, Wildfire felt her heart buoy. She strode through the woods in the direction of the beach, grinning like an idiot as the puppies stirred continuously as if to say, Mama! We're here! Alive! Awake! Enthusiastic!